jan 29, 1850 - Compromise of 1850

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As a result of southern talk of secession, Henry Clay proposed yet another compromise. The Compromise of 1850 proposed a variety of solutions: admit California as a free state, divide Mexican Cession into Utah and New Mexico and let the citizens decide if they want slaves, ghd federal government assumes Texas' public debt, ban the slave trade in D.C., and enforce a Fugitive Slave Law. The Compromise was widely debated on both sides, mainly regarding the issue of slavery.

The Compromise of 1850 is significant because it started the widespread debate on slavery that wouldn't stop until the Civil War ended. The Fugitive Slave Law was hated by the Northerners and the restriction on the expansion of slavery invigorated Southerners. Sectionalism would continue to increase as a result of the Compromise of 1850, ultimately leading up to the Civil War.

"Resolved, That as slavery does not exist by law, and is not likely to be introduced into any of the territory acquired by the United States from the republic of Mexico, it is inexpedient for Congress to provide by law either for its introduction into, or exclusion from, any part of the said territory; and that appropriate territorial governments ought to be established by Congress in all of the said territory , not assigned as the boundaries of the proposed State of California, without the adoption of any restriction or condition on the subject of slavery."
-Compromise of 1850

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